


"But you'll never be alone, i'll be with you from dusk till dawn"

by narcissusetstellae



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff, my babies deserve happiness, parentdale, penmione
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 04:15:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17134769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narcissusetstellae/pseuds/narcissusetstellae
Summary: " “Merry Christmas.” She said with an additional surprise of a peck to her nude colored lips. Penelope smiled before her eyelids fluttered open and a soft gasp could be heard. "





	"But you'll never be alone, i'll be with you from dusk till dawn"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> hello, it's me again !!
> 
> this time i bring to you a short fanfic i've been meaning to write for such a long time now, for a pair i love so very much and finally, muse struck last night and i opted for a little bit of chistmas fluff.
> 
> this is actually a gift for mia, the sweetest person out there and someone who accompanies me on my craziest shit when it comes to penmione. i love you so very much !! 
> 
> hope you all enjoy reading it as much i did writing it !! xo

It was Christmas season and everyone was happy at home, planning the holidays with their families. Some would get out of town, some would stay and have relatives coming in and some would choose to, for another year, not acknowledge the existence of the date.

 

As Hermione stared out of the window, a soft sigh passed her lips. She couldn’t enjoy the holidays knowing that someone so dear to her was doomed to spend them with people she despised and that were nothing but mean and twisted.

 

Looking down to her lap, she brushed her fingers over the soft wrapping paper that covered the gift. On a little card attached to it, it was written _‘To: Pen; From: Hermione; Happy Holidays!’_. Of course, there was so much more she wanted to write on that, so much more she wanted to say to Penelope but she knew how the Blossoms were: if they caught it, Heaven knows what they’d do to the redhead…

 

Hermione shuddered at the mere thought. How could they do that? How could they be such monsters? How could they think that taking a girl that was already alone in this world to groom her into their twisted traditions was adding something good to the world? Something good to her life? She could recall the countless times Penelope would come crying to her and they’d sit, the both of them curled up for hours until the girl could speak again, utter a single sound that wasn’t a sob, only to tell her that for billionth time, she’d gotten into an argument with the matriarch of the family and the hag, like always, would throw in her face that she should be so lucky that they batted an eye in her direction.

 

She knew it wasn’t an “altruistic adoption”, to quote Penelope herself but… How could someone do that? How could someone be so vile? It was all for Clifford and nothing for the redhead cherub, with salamander eyes…

 

Yeah, one could say that they had something going on between them at this point but it almost always happened either at school, in specific spots where no one could see them, or at the Latina’s house, so news wouldn’t travel fast and end up reaching the wrong ears. But oh, it was all worth it. Penelope -- ‘Pen’ or even ‘P’, as Hermione liked to call her -- was so amazing once you cracked her code and got to know her better. She could be so caring and loving ( unless that was just towards Hermione ) and had the most lighthearted, genuine laugh the brunette had ever heard and she’d always fight to keep it there, no matter what.

 

A knock on her door startled her and she turned to it, a smile instantly curling up on her lips at the sight of Penelope standing there, her big glasses on and tugging at the sleeves of her coat.

 

“S-sorry to scare you.” She murmured sheepishly as an embarrassed smile appeared and she adjusted her glasses with her index finger. “Your mom said I could come up so I did.”

 

“It’s okay, really. You don’t need to apologize.” Hermione replied in the softest of tones. Carefully placing the gift in front of her, she got up and walked towards the door. Penelope met her halfway and they stared at each other for a few seconds before the redhead took the liberty of tightly wrapping her arms around the other ( another thing she never did to anyone, except Hermione ), burying her face into the crook of her neck.

 

“Hey.. what is it?” The brunette asked concerned, arms tightening around the girl’s body. For some reason, Penelope had been like that since their last day of school before the holiday break and it worried her. Was something happening back at home and she didn’t want to say anything? “P?” She insisted, brushing her long auburn hair to the side in order to press a kiss to her cheek.

 

“I’m just… enjoying every moment of this. Before anything happens, before the year starts again.” That was her response and it sounded like that, if she wasn’t already crying, she was on the very verge of doing so.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“You know what I mean. You’re a vixen, you’re popular, you have friends and everyone in school pining over you. You’re who they want to be. And I’m just… _me_. The nerdy girl that no one gets, the teacher’s pet, the member of a twisted family.” Penelope whispered, slowly letting go to look into Hermione’s eyes and when she did so, the girl saw pain and fear. “You’re going to forget me during this break. And you’re going to come back next year not even remembering who I am and I just wanted to enjoy every last single moment of this before I wake up from this beautiful dream.”

 

Hearing that broke Hermione’s heart. Did Penelope really think she’d just leave her? That none of the things she said were actually true? All the things she did? She couldn’t help but scoff at those words and the redhead frowned.

 

“I’m going to stop you right there. Do you hear what’s coming out of your mouth? That’s the most ultimate bullshit I’ve ever heard. And I have two younger siblings who love lying to my face and telling the most absurd stories and still think that they’re going to get away with everything.” The petite brunette started, reaching to push Penelope’s hair from her face and behind her ear. “You’re not those things you said. You’re _not_ the teacher’s pet. You’re _not_ the member of a twisted family. You’re not what they say to and about you around the hallways. You’re.. _sensational_ . And I have learned so much with and from you. I love being by your side, I love your company, I love this… _us_. And I want a lightning to strike me in my beauty sleep if I’m lying.” She said with a little chuckle, taking the other with her, both their faces at that point just stained with mascara streaks. “Come, I have something for you.” And with that, she pulled Penelope towards her window.

 

Pushing the girl to sit, Hermione sat by her side on her windowsill seat and told her to close her eyes. Penelope was hesitant but did so anyways, hands placed on her thighs, palms facing down so the brunette couldn’t see how sweaty they were. “Can I open them now?”, she asked impatiently to what Hermione only offered a chuckle in response as she got the gift, inspecting it once more to see if everything was in place, before crouching down before the redhead and placing it on her lap. “Merry Christmas.” She said with an additional surprise of a peck to her nude colored lips. Penelope smiled before her eyelids fluttered open and a soft gasp could be heard.

 

“Mione! You didn’t have to. I didn’t even bring anything! Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed, I’m so sorry! I should’ve--”. Another kiss was given to shut her up, followed by a _“Just open it”_ and the redhead could feel her heart flutter inside her chest as she practically ripped the wrapping open.

 

Inside was the most lovely sweater in a dark amber color, which happened to be her favorite. But the surprise happened when she unfolded it and saw, knitted on the front, a letter ‘P’, in yellow, her second favorite color. Her brown eyes filled with tears and she couldn’t help but look back and forth from the sweater to Hermione and back to the sweater again.

 

“I saw the way you looked at the sweaters that day when you came over and I was folding them. The way you looked away when I told you that it was something my mom made for all of us when we moved here, on our first Christmas in the US so we’d have something to wear when Winter came. I wanted you to have one. In fact, all of us did. My mom wanted me to get you a new overall with a pocket in the front that she saw at the mall, so she could put the ‘P’ on it. She thought it’d be more you.” She said with a roll of her eyes and a grimace. “But I said that this was more you. This was more Penelope… so, do you like it?”

 

Actions spoke more than words in that moment when Penelope pulled the sweater close to her chest, snuggling it tightly before turning to the girl beside her and pressing a long kiss to her lips, her glasses even getting little out of place. Hermione could only chuckle and retribute the action, a hand gently placed on the other’s waist.

 

“I love it. I don’t simply “like it”. It’s gorgeous. It’s the most amazing thing ever, I’ve never seen something so beautiful in my entire life. Well, apart from you, that is but you know what I mean, right? And you knew my favorite colors and the overall thing and, and--”

 

 _Another_ kiss, to prevent Penelope from spiralling down an anxiety abyss. And this time, Hermione actually pulled her much closer, pressing their fronts together as she allowed her arms to loop around the girl’s neck.

 

“You love it and I love _you_. I’m not going to forget about you when the school year comes again. In fact, I could never forget about you. You’re like, so silly if you think that. Or if you believed whoever put those ideas there.” She huffed cutely, leaning in to give Penelope’s nose a tiny bite.

 

“Well, I know that now, _duh_ .” Penelope rolled her eyes in return before going silent, lower lip just rolling between her teeth as her eyes scanned the brunette’s features, taking in every trait, every freckle. Then, leaning in until their foreheads and the tip of their noses touched, she whispered, ever so softly. “ _I love you too_.”. The strange words and their odd meaning that had remained a mystery to her for the majority of her life rolled out of her lips with ease this time and she felt the freedom she’d been seeking for so long now. And somehow, Hermione just knew that.

 

“Merry Christmas, Hermione.”

 

“Merry Christmas, P.”

 

They said in unison and laughed.

 

And yet another kiss was shared before Hermione adjusted herself on her spot and Penelope snuggled into her, still holding the sweater to her chest while they both drifted off into a comfortable silence that turned into a peaceful sleep. 


End file.
